Desire Source

Core Idea

Desires come from two places: inside you, or outside you. Internal desires grow slowly and stay. External ones come from what you see and can vanish just as fast.

Most people don’t check where their desires come from. They just act.

That’s how you end up starting a project, changing jobs, or building a product… only to lose motivation once the external trigger disappears. If you want control over your time and energy, map the source of your desire before you commit.

Practice

1. Write the desire. One sentence. Be specific.
2. List where it came from. People, trends, content whatever sparked it.
3. Test it. If you remove the source, do you still want it?
4. Act accordingly. Keep it, change it, or drop it.

Example 1 - Quitting Consulting to Build a Product

1. Desire: Stop doing client work and launch my own SaaS.
2. Source: Indie founder blogs framing consulting as a trap.
3. Test: Without that narrative, I realize I enjoy strategic client work just not low-margin execution.

Example 2 - Raising Venture Capital

1. Desire: Raise €500k to grow faster.
2. Source: Friends closing rounds, pitch events, startup press.
3. Test: Without that noise, I’d rather grow on revenue and keep full control.

Example 3 - Becoming a Tech Conference Speaker

• Desire: Speak onstage at major tech events.
• Source: Seeing peers go viral from talks. Status-driven, not content-driven.
• Test: Without the recognition, I don’t care about speaking—I care about clarity of thinking.

Other Considerations

Mimetic desire feels personal. It isn’t. You absorb it by watching others consciously or not.

That doesn’t make it bad. But it makes it dangerous if unchecked. The risk isn’t failure. It’s wasted years chasing things that were never yours.

Audit early. Desire is expensive.

Referenced Links

Mimetic freedom (Kunal B. Sarkar): You don't pick up desires watching others